A destructive, exotic insect that attacks and kills ash trees has been discovered near Knoxville, Tennessee. Because the emerald ash borer (EAB) pest is federally-regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a mandatory quarantine has been implemented in the area. The quarantine prohibits the movement of ash firewood, logs, seedlings, or any ash wood product.
“If this destructive insect reaches our state boundaries, Georgia stands to lose a significant ash resource,” explains GFC’s Chief of Forest Management James Johnson. “While no EAB have been discovered in Georgia yet, this Tennessee find is too close for comfort.” Read more.
This unique conference is for college and university physical plant managers, landscape directors, staff, and administrators who know the 
value of maintaining healthy trees on their campuses. Learn more about tree inventory assessments, maintenance, trees and security, and the Tree Campus USA Program. Special guest speaker: Dan Lambe, The National Arbor Day Foundation. This conference is presented by the Georgia Urban Forest Council and sponsored by Arborguard Tree Specialists; Bartlett Tree Experts; Bold Spring Nursery; The Davey Tree Expert Company; Hughes, Good, O’Leary & Ryan Landscape Architects; jB+a, inc.; Moon’s Tree Farm, and Macon State College. Need lodging? E-mail gufc@gufc.org for suggested hotels.
Date: September 28, 2010
Time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Location: Macon State College, 100 College Station Drive, Macon, GA 31206
Registration Fee: $50 per person. Lunch included.
4 ISA Arborist CEUs; 4 Continuing Forestry Education Credits, category 1; 1 Continuing Forestry Education Credit, category 2.
For a schedule of sessions and speakers, driving directions, and to register, click on the button below.
Date: October 9, 2010
Time: 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
Speaker: Eric King, Past-President, Georgia Urban Forest Council, RLA
A natural home landscape offers advantages over a traditional high maintenance yard in several ways: 1) natural plantings of trees can reduce energy consumption in summer by better shading the home; 2) natural plantings require less time and energy to maintain; and 3) natural landscapes provide a virtual outdoor classroom of biological process to watch and enjoy. The challenge in moving from a high maintenance landscape to a more natural and sustainable one is to understand how your yard functions as its own ecosystem and then work with nature to restore the natural processes. Eric King, ASLA has been designing gardens in Georgia for decades and has appeared on numerous TV/radio programs and in garden magazines throughout the country. He will demystify the process of natural succession and offer a better path to creating a more natural home landscape.
Registration fee: $25
Location: Big Trees Forest Preserve
7645 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, Georgia 30350
DATE: NOVEMBER 17-18, 2010
LOCATION: THE CLASSIC CENTER, ATHENS, GEORGIA
REGISTRATION FEE: $99 (Full-time college student rate available.)
photo courtesy Dan Burden, Walkable Cities
This year’s annual conference focuses on the importance of trees to shopping areas. Studies have shown that consumers visit businesses more frequently and spend more money if the landscaping includes trees. This conference is for tree advocates, tree professionals, businesses, developers, community leaders, tree boards and others who know that “money grows on trees!” and want to learn more about it. Sessions at this year’s conference include:
- Commercial Properties That Did it Right and Why
- Panel Discussion with property owners, leasing agents, and arborists
- Before & After: Retrofitting Existing Shopping Centers with Trees
- Thriving on Main Street, Part A: Tree Selection and Design for Retail Areas
- Thriving on Main Street, Part B: Healthcare for Trees in Retail Areas
- Tools of Tree Conservation
- Trees and Stormwater in Retail Areas
- Trees and Signs Can Co-Exist!
- A Tree Board Roundtable
Also featured will be the Georgia Urban Forestry Awards Luncheon, a Bike Ride & Tree Planting, a Campus Tour of Trees, and exhibitors with products and services for the urban forest. To register and for a detailed agenda and map to the Classic Center, click below.
The Georgia Urban Forest Council proudly announces the 2010 Georgia Urban Forestry Awards program. Annually, as part of its mission to sustain Georgia’s green legacy by helping communities grow healthy trees, GUFC enthusiastically rewards individuals, organizations, businesses, municipalities, and counties for outstanding work in protecting and enhancing our community forests. Outstanding work, whether public or private, is eligible for nomination. Individuals, non-profit organizations, businesses, municipalities and counties, schools, civic groups, and others are welcomed and encouraged to make nominations in more than one category. A nominee does not have to be a member of the Georgia Urban Forest Council. Award recipients of this year’s Georgia Urban Forestry Awards will be recognized at GUFC’s 2010 Annual Conference Awards Luncheon on November 18, 2010 at the Classic Center in Athens, Georgia. To download an awards application, click here. Deadline is September 15.
In this issue: Tree Preservation at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, new Sustainable Community Forestry Program Coordinator for the Georgia Forestry Commission, AmericanGrove.org, President’s Letter, and more. 
Click here to download the Summer issue or click on the image at right.
E-mail my TreeTalks! Would you like to receive the GUFC newsletter? Just click on the “E-mail my Tree Talks” link and send us an e-mail. Simply put “E-mail my Tree Talks” in the subject line.
Municipalities have many demands on them: transportation, safety, education, development and much more. Urban foresters and arborists understand the importance of urban foresty in terms of benefits and safety; the goal is for municipal budgets to reflect this importance. Urban forestry often must compete for municipal dollars. To compete effectively requires constant education and communication with municipal hierarchy and elected officials. Georgia Urban Forest Council strives to deliver the tools to accomplish this through our educational programs, resources, and community outreach.
The west coast is spectacular, even the trees reach heights of over 350 feet. However, the breadth of tree diversity does not compare to the Southeast. Consider trees you can select just for the understory in this region: Sassafras, Silverbell, Dogwood, Sourwood, Yellow Wood, Paw Paw… the list goes on. At some point even overstory trees like white oak and yellow popular are understory trees. Next time you are in the forest in Georgia, enjoy its breadth and diversity!
This quercas alba (white oak, click on for larger view) has been pruned over the years by the utility company. It does not appear to have one dominant leader, and the homeowner is wondering if the many crowded branches growing vertically are weak attachments. The homeowner also wonders if by thinning the crown in particular, the verticle branches growing upward, would reduce wind drag and make the tree less likely to fail. What do you think?
